MOBILE, Alabama -- Iris Ginsberg lit two candles nestled in brass candlesticks on the countertop in her living room Friday evening, and for the first time in memory, the congregation of the historic Springhill Avenue Temple gathered in a private home to welcome Shabbat.

The temple sustained damage to its roof, windows and heating and air-conditioning units in the Christmas Day tornado, one of three congregations in Mobile displaced by the storm. Springhill members, who practice Reform Judaism, met with their more conservative counterparts last Friday at Ahavas Chesed synagogue in west Mobile.

This week, however, they chose a home for the worship site so that they could practice their own familiar chants and songs. About 20 people gathered facing a gas fireplace on couches and two rows of chairs. Shabbat is observed beginning at sunset Friday, the beginning of the seventh day of the week. The evening and following day are set aside for rest, worship and study.

“I can’t remember it every happening,” said Rabbi Donald Kunstadt, of the home gathering. Kunstadt has been leading the congregation for 25 years. After prayers and songs, he read from Exodus, commenting on the significance of names – particularly those “names” that people earn during their lifetimes.

Kunstadt echoed the gratitude he has expressed since the tornado’s destruction. “It’s a heartwarming thing to see how much everyone cares about this historic temple,” he said this week. Springhill's congregation was formed in 1844, and the current building was erected in the 1950s.

While the temple has regained telephone and internet service, the main sanctuary and social hall still have no heat, said Nate Ginsberg, who is temple president. They also are awaiting word from structural engineers on when it would be safe for the congregation to return. A historic marker, believed lost, was found in debris on the grounds.

Trinity Episcopal Church on Dauphin Street and Sweet Pilgrim Baptist Church on St. Charles Avenue have also been displaced since the Christmas Day storm.